$1 billion to put more californians back to work. the state already billions in the hole, why the governor thinks his new plan will work. >> i'm mike sugerman. san francisco chefs cooking with trees. that's coming up. >> that and much more at 6:00. "cbs evening news with scott pelley" is next. company come. >> caption colorado, llc comments@captioncolorado.com >> pelley: tonight, tens of millions of americans are notice: watches and warnings go up for hurricane irene. we're tracking the storm minute to minute with correspondents all along the coast from miami to new york. will cell phones work in the hurricane? chip reid on the state of the mobile phone system ten years after 9/11. the hunt for qaddafi. barry petersen in tripoli takes us inside the dictator's network of escape tunnels. and as the man called the edison of his time steps down as

apple's c.e.o., will the high tech empire he created lose its magic? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. hurricane irene is moving in and people along the east coast are moving out. the first watches and warnings went up today for what could be the most powerful hurricane to hit the east coast in seven years. irene roared across the bahamas today, a category three with winds of 115 miles an hour. the capital, nassau, was largely spared, but major damage is reported in other parts of the island chain. at last report, irene was about 600 miles south of cape hatteras, north carolina, moving toward the north/northwest at 14 miles an hour. hurricane watches and warnings are up from north carolina to new jersey, with landfall expected in north carolina on

saturday. we have a team of correspondents posted throughout the hurricane zone. first, cbs news hurricane consultant david bernard in miami. david, what is the latest on the track and the intensity? >> well, no change at all today, scott. this storm is steady state. it is still a major hurricane and, in fact, the latest information from the hurricane center indicates it might get a a little bit stronger tonight. now, here is the track. it remains virtually unchanged. we're expecting that landfall in the eastern plains of north carolina during the day saturday and then it's going to continue a march right up the eastern sea board, possibly near the jersey shore or the new york city area during the day on sunday. that would be a rather dramatic track and it could cause quite a bit of disruption, to say the least. >> pelley: and your best estimate of what happens in the next 72 hours is what? >> well, it's all about the track, and as we can see from the hurricane center, their cone has narrowed significantly and for good reason. there's more confidence tonight on the track that the storm is going to take.

this is the steering pattern as we go into sunday. we have that huge blocking high still over the central atlantic. that is preventing the storm from going east. instead, it's creating a pathway to carry the hurricane right up the east coast. right now it looks like land interaction is almost a certain bet. >> pelley: david, thank you. with the storm moving in, the governors of north carolina, virginia, maryland, delaware, new jersey, new york and connecticut declared states of emergency today. mark strassmann is in kill devil hills, north carolina. >> reporter: that sense of urgency is real, scott. by tomorrow night this area could feel irene's leading edge with heavy rains and wind gusts of more than 40 miles an hour. so six counties here have already started ordering people to leave. >> all visitors be advised there is a mandatory evacuation. >> reporter: in duck, north carolina, irene's moving in but time's running out...

>> you're advised to leave the area immediately. >> reporter: ...and officer tara poulin had a warning for irene's holdouts. >> it's a stay at your own risk type of thing and we may or may not be here to assist them if they get trapped in the area. >> this one may be the test. >> reporter: this is going to be one to remember? >> yes, absolutely. >> i've boarded the two front windows and the door. >> reporter: starr belvin is hoping plywood will save her home in kittyhawk. >> i think kittyhawk is going to be devastated. i think it will change the whole picture of the beach down here in kittyhawk. >> reporter: there's a rush to safety off the outer banks. 300,000 tourists are going or gone-- a good thing. by this weekend, irene's storm surge could wash away sea-level roads, isolating communities in some cases only a half mile wide. another worry? inland flooding, usually a hurricane's greatest killer. back in 1999, hurricane floyd hovered and flooded this coast. 50 people drowned. irene will barrel through, but

ten inches of rain could fall as far inland as the central part of this state. >> you have to be safe and start thinking about getting off the beaches. >> reporter: that's why emergency officials want people long gone. clearing beaches of tourists today... >> traffic is building up on duck road. >> reporter: ...will clear roads for residents to leave tomorrow. >> we're getting out of here shortly. >> okay, great. be safe. have a good time. >> reporter: the beach is already a dangerous place here. in one community, wrightsville beach, lifeguards made more than a dozen water rescues today. scott, they were swimmers overwhelmed by rip currents. >> pelley: thanks, mark. well, the navy wasn't taking any chances with the water today, either. it ordered 27 ships of the second fleet, including the carrier "eisenhower," out to sea from their base at hampton roads, virginia. ships are safer riding out big storms at sea. we asked the pentagon today how it's preparing to help and they told us there are 101,000 national guard troops on standby, 18 rescue teams and

helicopters have been deployed and over at fort bragg in north carolina, they're loading up with emergency supplies. what makes this storm so remarkable is that it's headed to the biggest metro area in the nation. greater new york is home to 19 million people. michelle miller tells us that new york city is especially vulnerable. parts of it are just a few feet above sea level. >> reporter: we've known for a very long time that new york city is vulnerable to a hurricane. parts of lower manhattan, just behind me, are only a few feet above sea level, so any storm surge can cause major devastation, especially during high tide. at the coney island amusement park, thrill-seekers got in some last-minute rides. an evacuation order for this entire area could come tomorrow. billy burke has worked at this food stand for 29 years.

he's never experienced a hurricane on the boardwalk before. >> if it raises 20 feet i'm sure this is going to be underwater. >> reporter: coney island could be irene's first stop in new york city, as the storm rolls over the five million people living in queens and brooklyn. >> if the category two hurricane hit new york city, it would depend on what time of day and the tide and the various other things, but it would be weeks or months before the city got back to normal. >> reporter: that's because new york city is in the center of a geographical right angle between new jersey and long island. irene could push water into that corner with no place to go but new york's tunnels, streets, and sidewalks. >> every 75 years, the northeast gets a major hurricane. it doesn't take a major hurricane to do major damage. >> reporter: that's the fear in new jersey. hurricane irene is following roughly the same path as

hurricane donna, which pounded the jersey shore in 1960. new jersey officials will consider mandatory evacuations tomorrow. the state's governor has already told vacationers to get away from the beach. >> if it continues on the current track, from a flooding perspective, this could be a hundred-year event. >> reporter: the whole northeast is under threat. flooding and power outages are expected as far north as maine. scott? >> pelley: thanks, michelle. we were talking in the newsroom today about the big storms in the past that have taken similar routes. a category three storm they called the long island express slammed into the northeast in 1938, leaving more than 600 people dead. then in 1954, carol and edna, a pair of category threes, hit new york and new england just days apart. but the biggest hurricane, that same year, 1954, was hazel, which cut a path of destruction from south carolina to canada.

so with all of us depending on cell phones these days, we wondered how the cell system would stand up to such a storm. we asked chip reid to look into whether we will all stay connected. >> reporter: when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the east coast earlier this week, so many people grabbed their cell phones to call family and friends that networks quickly became overloaded. the situation became so serious that the federal emergency management agency urged the public to use e-mail or text messages so that emergency officials can continue to receive and respond to urgent calls. nearly ten years after 9/11-- when overloaded cell phone systems crashed, possibly hindering the response of police and firefighters-- the federal government is still searching for a solution. now, with hurricane irene, there's the added threat of wind damage to signal towers. maggie reardon is a senior writer for tech website cnet.

>> when you have winds that are blowing at 120 miles per hour, it can really affect the equipment on towers exposed to the environment. these towers are high; the equipment is up high. >> reporter: during hurricane katrina, over a thousand cell towers were knocked out and there's no federal standard for wind speeds that those towers must withstand. bobby outten is the manager of dare county on the outer banks of north carolina, where irene is expected to make a direct hit. >> all communications will be impacted because it doesn't take much to turn a tower the wrong way or turn a dish for our communications the wrong way. >> reporter: cell phone companies have spent millions in recent years to upgrade their technology, but says reardon, not for the worst-case scenario. >> for cell phone carriers, it doesn't make sense from a cost perspective for them to be building their networks for the highest demand. >> reporter: of course, one option is to use a land line phone, but that won't work for everybody. believe it or not, scott, today more than a quarter of american homes are cell phone only. and good luck finding a pay phone. >> pelley: thanks, chip.

no luck finding moammar qaddafi in libya today. the rebels fought pockets of qaddafi loyalists in the center of tripoli. barry petersen says a lot of ammunition was spent chasing rumors of the dictator's whereabouts. >> reporter: the rebels' army rushed to this neighborhood, spurred on by rumors that qaddafi was hiding here. they faced his soldiers' main defense: sniper fire. the wounded got makeshift treatment from medics near the front lines. the rebels are rather dubious that they're going to catch qaddafi. as one said, "he would have escaped in his secret tunnels a long time ago." tunnels under his tripoli compound that the world is seeing for the first time. a network so extensive it may spread under the city and as far as seven miles away to the airport. qaddafi had many escape plans to choose from. and wherever he is, qaddafi is ignoring the reality that he is losing, telling supporters in an

audio statement, "don't leave tripoli for the rats." but it's his hired army that is leaving him. these mercenaries surrendered and they may be alive because we were there. no rebels hurt them in front of our camera. other mercenaries captured days ago had their hands tied and were killed execution style. at tripoli's main hospital, a war story of a sadder sort. last night we told you about 11- year-old alaa saleem, who was hit by a sniper bullet at her home. neurosurgeons removed the bullet but now doctors think the brain damage was so extensive it will leave her paralyzed. even physicians used to seeing pain are overwhelmed. >> sadness and depression and... but we don't want that control over us but we want to do our work. >> reporter: she is in a hospital without medicines or even running water, but she's surrounded by people who care,

even though they are appalled at how this war changed her life forever. the rebels will soon have complete control of the city, and the hope is the sniper fire that so badly hurt alaa, and the other violence of this war, will finally come to an end here. scott? >> pelley: barry, there are about two million people in tripoli. what's it like there? is it general chaos or is there some order in parts of town? >> it's just impossible to get around. the rebels have armed checkpoints every block or two. the neighborhoods have makeshift barricades-- 2x4s, egg crates, the other day we saw an old electric stove-- anything to block the street to keep the fighters and the fighting out of their neighborhood. >> pelley: barry, thank you very much. a defining moment for the english language. the newest words in the dictionary. why housing activists say fannie mae is making the foreclosure crisis worse. and he may not have set out to

change the world, but he did. steve jobs, when the "cbs evening news" continues. continues. fying. it was a grueling trip! try new activia selects greek yogurt. finally, there's a choice for my patients with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs

of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke. in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer. i am very grateful and appreciative that quicken loans can offer service members va loans. it was very important for me to be able to close and refinance my home quickly. i wanted to lower my mortgage payment. quicken loans guided me through every step of the process. the whole experience was amazing!

[ tony ] serving those who serve us all... one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. >> pelley: the sudden >> pelley: the sudden resignation of steve jobs as apple's c.e.o. has left the company's many admirers wondering. without his demanding, visionary influence, where will apple's next revolutionary product come from? and how did he do it so well for so long?

we asked ben tracy to find out. >> reporter: when employees arrived for work today at apple's california headquarters, it looked as though nothing had changed, but everything has. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: steve jobs was much more than the company's c.e.o. he was its c.p.u., its central processing unit, the brain of the computer. brian cooley is editor at cnet. >> jobs runs that place in a singular fashion with a singular vision that is pretty fearless. he's okay saying no to a lot of things. that's a unique quality. >> iphone is like having your life in your pocket. >> reporter: jobs reportedly rejected the first two versions of the iphone-- until his team got it right. >> it's the ultimate digital device. >> reporter: it's always been about the details. jobs dropped out of college, but not before taking a calligraphy class. it gave him his love of fonts and design-- signature elements of his computers. >> the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers. >> reporter: jobs practiced what

he preached: thinking different. products had to be easy to use, easy on the eye and work like magic. he once said "people don't know what they want until you show it to them." >> steve jobs has a certain amount of taste and a certain amount of foresight that has driven the new products every year. >> you like everything so far? ( cheers and applause ) well, i'll try not to blow it. >> reporter: jobs never did blow it. he revolutionized the music industry, redefined the telephone and, with the ipad, created a new way to use computers. it's unclear just how hands-on steve jobs has been here at apple lately. he's been on medical leave since january. the company's product line is thought to be set for the next year and a half. so the question is, after that and without jobs, what's next? steve wozniak was jobs' partner this creating apple. >> he was always thinking about those great people that drove humanity to a higher level. people like shakespeare, like isaac newton. >> reporter: who, like steve

jobs, created something revolutionary with an apple. ben tracy, cbs news, cupertino, california. >> pelley: english is a living language. new words are born and others die. well, today merriam-webster's collegiate dictionary added "boomerang child," a young adult who returns to live with mom and dad. and "fist bump," a gesture made famous by the obamas during the 2008 campaign. but the collins dictionary removed "wittol," a man who tolerates his wife's infidelity. and "aerodrome," a small airport. fannie mae is being accused of driving down house prices. that story is next. that story is next. wait! now life is dull... darling! ♪ i believe in miracles

[ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. swiffer wetjet's new upgraded solution loosens and lifts off dirt to help prevent streaks and residue. and reveal more shine than a mop or your money back. you had me at "bzzzzz". whose non-stop day starts with back pain... and a choice. take advil now and maybe up to four in a day. or choose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. way to go, coach. ♪ way to go, coach. sometimes life can be, well, a little uncomfortable, but when it's hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, there's dulcolax stool softener. dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go... it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. i know what works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris. omnaris, to the nose! did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation.

side effects may include headache, nosebleed, and sore throat. i tossed those allergy symptoms out of my party. [ man ] omnaris. ask your doctor. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cause. get omnaris for only $11 at omnaris.com. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cause. and not because silverado's the most dependable, longest-lasting full-size truck on the road or because heavy duty made motor trend's 2011 truck of the year. no, it was good because you told us so. consider this a thank-you. the chevy model year wrap up.

get in on our greatest model year yet. right now, combine the all-star edition discount with other offers for a total value of $6,000. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. >> pelley: warren buffett is putting his money in the bank. the billionaire investor said today he will invest $5 billion in bank of america. it is a high profile vote of confidence for america's biggest bank as bank of america struggles with its portfolio of bad real estate loans. that real estate mess still has a grip on the economy and we saw it again today in a new report that says nearly one out of every three home sales in the second quarter of this year was a foreclosure. one out of three. elaine quijano tells us some are blaming the mortgage giant fannie mae, the nation's largest owner of foreclosed homes.

>> reporter: the mount pleasant neighborhood of cleveland is anything but pleasant these days. >> it's scary. i mean, this neighborhood's at a tipping point. >> reporter: mark seiffert is a housing activist. he says his fight to reduce foreclosures is being made harder by fannie mae, the government-backed mortgage giant. >> this is a house that fanny acquired about seven months ago for a whopping $5,000. that's about a third of what they could have gotten it for. we could have gotten them $15,000 and helped this homeowner save their home. these are not one-off situations. this is a corporate policy at fanny. >> reporter: across cuyahoga county, fannie mae is selling repossessed homes at rock-bottom prices. they're pushing property values lower. >> it's destroying our neighborhood. >> reporter: betty ewing has lived here for 33 years, just a few doors down from the home fannie mae sold for just $5,000. her house has lost a third of its value. >> if we wanted to get up and leave, we wouldn't get anything

for it. >> reporter: fannie mae and freddie mac were created by congress to increase homeownership. their losses from bad mortgages required a $135 billion taxpayer bailout. >> i'm outraged because that's my money and we're letting a company that clearly has demonstrated they can't manage their business make decisions about national housing policy. that's stupid. >> reporter: fannie mae denies it's selling homes below market value. the government agency that oversees it said in a statement: but they are not doing that with ignacio miranda's house. he fell behind on his payments after he lost his job. >> i tried everything possibly so we didn't have to lose the house. >> reporter: he spent two years trying to work with fannie mae to modify his $80,000 mortgage, but fanny wouldn't budge. he was evicted last month. >> my wife and i, we were going

to live here, you know, i'd say forever but... until we die. this was going to be the first and the last house, but it didn't happen that way. >> reporter: ignacio is working again. he says had fannie been flexible, he'd still be in the house and fannie would not be facing a loss. >> i never even dream about that i was going to lose the house this way. >> reporter: it's one of nearly 136,000 homes fannie mae will have to unload. elaine quijano, cbs news, cleveland, ohio. >> pelley: we're not taking our eye off the hurricane. back with an update in a moment. moment. from my worst allergy symptoms. so lily and i are back on the road again. with zyrtec® i can love the air®. jjtoi switched to a complete0, multivitamin with more. so lily and i are back on the road again. only one a day women's 50+ advantage has ginkgo for memory and concentration,

plus support for bone and breast health. a great addition to my routine. [ female announcer ] one a day women's. and i was a pack-a-day smoker for 25 years. i do remember sitting down with my boys, and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these, stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some of these can be life-threatening.

if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. until you know how chantix affects you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting! [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about chantix. over 7 million people have gotten a prescription. learn how you can save money and get terms and conditions at chantix.com. look at all this stuff for coffee. oh there's tons. french presses, espresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. i mean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soooo amped! i mean not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf?

do you think that would help? yeah. priority mail flat rate shipping starts at just $4.95, only from the postal service. caused on the past next on cbs 5 no ids thurs no ids thur >> pelley: we want to take one more look now at hurricane irene as it heads for the east coast. the storm battered the bahamas today as a category three with winds of 115 miles an hour. right now irene is centered about 600 miles south of cape hatteras, north carolina, moving north/northwest at 14 miles an hour. it's on track to make landfall in north carolina on saturday and then head right up the coast. hurricane watches and warnings are posted from north carolina to new jersey. governs throughout the area have declared states of emergency. stay with cbs news as we continue to track the hurricane in the days ahead.

for now, that's the "cbs evening news." and for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org a every time an out-of-state company moves a job out of california, then they get a tax break. >> new at 6:00, $1 billion to put more californians back to work. with the state already billions in the hole, why governor brown thinks his new plan will work. barry bonds goes to bat again. the 75 seconds that could be a game changer as he fights to